India’s Balancing Act in the Bay of Bengal

Syllabus: GS2/International Relations; India & Its Neighbours

Context

• India’s maritime ambitions in the Bay of Bengal face challenges despite its progress in ports and regional trade.

About Bay of Bengal: Strategic Geography

• The Bay of Bengal is bounded by India’s eastern coastline, and is India’s maritime gateway to Southeast Asia.
• It connects the Indian Ocean to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s most critical chokepoints. 
• It serves as the maritime periphery of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which host strategic military infrastructure and surveillance capabilities.
• It was seen as  a ‘natural sphere of influence’, by India that shapes its security doctrines and foreign policy.

Significance of Bay of Bengal For India

• Trade & Connectivity: It serves as a vital maritime corridor linking South Asia with Southeast Asia, facilitating global trade and supply chains.
• It includes infrastructure, trade policies including development of ports, logistics for seamless economic integration with neighboring countries.
• Geopolitical Influence: India’s presence in the Bay of Bengal strengthens its regional leadership, countering external influences and ensuring maritime stability.
• Energy & Resources: The bay is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas, and fisheries, making it crucial for economic growth and energy security.
• Security & Stability: India plays a key role in maintaining maritime security in the region, given rising concerns over piracy, illegal fishing, and transnational crime.
• Environmental & Climate Impact: The bay’s coastal ecosystems are vital for biodiversity and disaster resilience, requiring sustainable policies to protect marine life and coastal communities.

India & Countries in Bay of Bengal

• Bangladesh: It is India’s closest maritime neighbor and is highly impacted by shifts in India’s trade and infrastructure policies.
• Myanmar: India’s engagement with Myanmar is crucial for both regional connectivity and security.
• Nepal & Bhutan: They rely on India for access to Bay of Bengal ports.
• Sri Lanka: It plays a significant role in regional shipping routes.
• Thailand & Southeast Asia: India’s policies influence BIMSTEC partnerships, which include Thailand.

Key Concerns and Challenges

• Geopolitical Competition: China’s deep-water port constructions in Kyaukpyu (Myanmar), Hambantota (Sri Lanka), and Chittagong (Bangladesh) pose strategic challenges.
• Maritime Security Threats: The region faces rising threats from piracy, illegal fishing, arms trafficking, and natural disasters.
  • India’s ability to coordinate maritime surveillance and security with littoral states is often hampered by capacity gaps and political sensitivities.
• Inconsistent Trade Policies: India’s withdrawal of transshipment privileges for Bangladesh raised concerns about the predictability of its trade commitments.
• Environmental Vulnerabilities: The Bay of Bengal is highly susceptible to climate change impacts — rising sea levels, cyclones, and coastal erosion.

India’s Balancing Act

• Security Architecture:
  • The Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command and the Tri-Service Command in the Andaman Islands serve as deterrents and rapid deployment centers in the eastern maritime theatre.
  • MILAN Naval Exercises: Participants from Southeast Asia, Africa, and the West, hosted in the Bay by the Indian Navy.
  • IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association): India promotes a vision of cooperative maritime governance, tackling issues like piracy, illegal fishing, and environmental degradation.
  • QUAD Alliance: It signals India’s alignment with like-minded democracies on freedom of navigation and rule-based order.
• Economic Engagement:
  • Act East Policy: Strengthening ties with Southeast Asian nations through trade agreements and infrastructure projects, reinforcing India’s strategic presence in the region.
  • Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR): It is a flagship initiative of India’s maritime diplomacy, focusing on capacity-building, economic ties, and cooperative security.
  • Regional Connectivity: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) and BIMSTEC frameworks (including recently signed BIMSTEC Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement), which include economic corridors and energy diplomacy in the Bay region.
  • Infrastructure Development: Initiatives like the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar and India-Bangladesh coastal shipping enhances India’s trade leverage.
  • Sagarmala: It aims to modernize ports, improve coastal logistics, and enhance maritime trade efficiency, benefiting India’s eastern seaboard.
  • Transshipment & Trade Facilitation: India has invested in port infrastructure to facilitate smoother trade flows.
• Environmental Diplomacy: India is promoting Blue Economy cooperation and climate-resilient infrastructure in littoral states. It includes:
  • Hydrographic surveys and disaster management training.
  • Indian assistance in satellite data sharing for monsoon and cyclone predictions.
  • Promoting green shipping corridors and renewable energy projects in island nations like the Maldives.

Way Forward

• Reinforce Multilateralism: A stable, rules-based framework aims to bolster India’s credibility as a benign power.
• Transparent Trade Practices: India could establish clearer, more predictable trade policies, especially with neighbors like Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• Joint Infrastructure Projects: Co-developing ports, digital corridors, and energy grids with partner countries ensures shared benefits and reduces dependency on extra-regional players like China.
  • It turns competition into collaboration.
• Disaster-Resilient Development: Investing in joint coastal resilience programs — like cyclone early warning systems or climate-smart fisheries — can address a common threat and foster goodwill across borders.
• Security Cooperation Without Overreach: India can promote maritime security through joint exercises and shared protocols, while remaining sensitive to sovereignty concerns.

Source: TH